Psychedelics 2.0
Yale University Press eBooks October 27, 2020 Russell Crandall
By the mid 2010s, psychedelics became a new front in debates over drug policy. Most psychedelic substances, including LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, have been Schedule I since 1970, which imposed major barriers to scientific research through security requirements, FDA approval, and expensive DEA licensing fees. The FDA's 1989 creation of the Pilot Drug Evaluation Staff eased communication between scientists and the administration. Dr. Richard Strassman successfully launched a research protocol involving DMT and psilocybin, defending his work by arguing that hallucinogens produce a multifaceted clinical syndrome.